A Closer Look at the Enemy
by Bobblehead-420
Summary: All her life Bella's been taught to hate the Cullens. As she has multiple encounters with the Cullens she realizes they're not that bad. And they can't be all that bad when they are the only ones willing to take her in when no1 else will, right? AH,AU,OOC


Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of it's characters

Beta'd by: Clarisse the Wild

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Chapter One:

Ms. Thornton, the young and irritable Advanced English teacher at Forks High School was in a _very _bad mood. Twice this hour she had been interrupted during her lesson, and that was twice too many times already for the short - tempered lady. Which was why when the third interruption came that hour, she nearly lost it.

"Come in," she answered harshly, irritated by the disturbance.

"Ms. Thornton?" Angela Webber, on an errand from the office, asked, poking her head in through the door and looking frightened.

"Who else?" came the gruff, rhetorical reply.

Angela blushed embarrassedly. "Ms. Thornton - um… Mrs. Cope asked Isabella Swan to meet her in the office. After this period." she stuttered the message quickly, then ran away.

Thirty pairs of eyes - twenty nine amused ones and one filled with irritation - now swiveled to the brunette sitting in the middle of the room. Isabella Swan sank lower in her seat, the embarrassment she felt at the new attention clearly evident on her bright red face.

Different scenarios as to why she could have been called to the school office ran through Isabella's mind as she made her way there. Was she being given punishment because she had spilt hydrochloric acid yesterday in Chemistry lab? Or did one of her friends stage her for one of the pranks they constantly pulled on the teachers and other students, again? The latter seemed more plausible, since the Chemistry teacher hadn't even been there when the spill had happened, and could have in no way known who had actually spilt the acid.

It was not uncommon for Isabella's friends to stage her for one of their wrongdoings. Since the whole town of Forks knew her as a sweet and pleasant mannered girl, everybody knew she could not actually be responsible for any of the pranks she had been blamed for. She was also daughter of the Chief of police; her family was in high regard in the town. Therefore, she did not get easily punished.

"Ah, Miss Swan, there you are!, " Mrs. Cope, the school secretary exclaimed when Isabella came in. "Isabella -"

"Bella," the girl automatically corrected.

"Ah, yes, yes. So, do you remember that you had signed up for Biology this year, but were put in Chemistry instead?" she nodded. "Well, a student transferred from Biology, so, now the spot is yours!" Mrs. Cope finished with a smile.

Upon hearing these words, Bella's heart lightened at the good news. Being in Chemistry these past months have been such a burden for her; she constantly spilled the chemicals she used on account of her clumsiness, or knocked over someone else and made them spill their chemicals. It was also a very high risk to have someone like her in constant proximity with glass apparatus. More often than not a test tube or a glass beaker would be on the verge of falling off the table, but was, luckily enough, saved by someone nearby more often than not.

She was also immensely relieved that she would no longer be Mrs Lewis' student. Eleanor Lewis was a strict teacher with curly grey hair and ice-cold blue eyes. She'd taught Chemistry at Forks High School for many a year, and throughout the town her name was associated with goose bump-inducing fear to all of Forks' dwellers. She was respected and praised; nevertheless it was always a relief to be as far away from her as the small town allowed.

Bella gave the school secretary a wide smile. "Thanks, Mrs. Cope!" she exclaimed, and skipped to the door of the office. She was just outside when she heard Mrs. Cope call after her,"Don't thank me dear, thank Alice Cullen for switching out of the class,".

She stopped dead in her tracks, her happiness suddenly marred by that one name. Cullen. _Alice _Cullen. She felt ashamed to think that of all people, now she had to be indebted to a Cullen. Alice Cullen no less! No, no, that would never do.

She was just about to turn her heel and tell Mrs. Cope to change her schedule again when her inner pride spoke up. No, she could not turn back, just because it would mean she owed Alice Cullen. This was an opportunity too great to miss. No _Cullen _should be able to spoil the pleasure she'd have in the class to be in she had wanted all along. With that decision made, Bella stood up straight, and walked to the cafeteria.

You see, Forks had a social hierarchy. Bella's father was the Chief of Police and well respected throughout the town. Because of his occupation he, and consequently his daughter, were very high up in the hierarchy. He was equally as influential and powerful as the School Board members. Below them were other policemen, doctors, teachers, and store owners. And above them, there was only one family - the _Cullens_.

Carlisle Cullen was the best surgeon in Forks, and practically ran the hospital. His wife, Esmé Cullen was an interior designer. Everyone in the town depended on her for their decorating purpose. Everyone, except the Swans, that is.

It was common knowledge to any Forks dweller that the Cullens and Swans hated each other. More specifically, Charles Swan hated Dr. Cullen. This hatred arose years ago and still flows strongly between the two men. Their families ignored each other as much as possible.

Bella Swan didn't hate the Cullens, but certainly looked on them with disdain. She had no respect whatsoever for Dr. Cullen. She saw his children as filthy rich spoilt show - offs. Because of their money and position they always got their way in this town, and they misused this benefit, of course.

The Cullens had a son named Edward. He' was about Bella's age. He always drove a stupid, shiny silver Volvo and was insanely protective of it. It was like the Volvo was the sun around which he revolved. You touched his Volvo, and the consequences you would have to suffer would be _dire_, to say the least.

With wild bronze hair and dark green eyes, he was considered the most handsome boy in school. Girls fawned over him, but he never gave them the time of day. He felt he's too good for the girls of Forks High School, some would say. Those close to him knew it just irritated him to have girls throwing themselves at his feet.

He was also a very moody person. It seemed as if he only had the capability to show two emotions - grief and anger. Either he'd look like the gloomiest person in the world, or he'd look just about ready to rip someone's head off. The people of Forks took this as a sign of arrogance, but his friends knew he was just a person who spent the majority of his time brooding.

Fourteen years ago, the Cullens adopted two kids - Alice and Emmett Cullen. Esmé Cullen had gotten into an accident, and was informed she couldn't have any more children. Devastated, she dragged her husband to the adoption centre in Seattle a few weeks later. There they found Emmett, and were instantly charmed by his adorable character and cute dimples. Emmett had a little sister, Alice, and they were a package deal. You couldn't adopt one without the other.

Fourteen years later, Emmett had grown to be a huge ape of a man. He was gargantuan, and just looking at him mad everyone feel as if they'd shrunk one third of their size. He had curly black hair and a kind smile. He'd helped Bella many times when she'd fallen down in the hallways, and she admired him for that.

In size, Alice was the complete opposite of her brother. She was extremely tiny, less than five feet tall. The average sixth grader was taller than her. She had spiky black hair and hazel eyes. The girls of Forks High School all tended to stay away from her, because they were jealous of her looks and were freaked out by her strange personality. Alice had approached Bella many times and attempted to befriend her, but Bella had always refused. The reasons being, one, because she could never be friends with a _Cullen_, and two, because Alice's enthusiasm was scary.

Ten years ago Esmé's sister died and left her twins under Esmé's care. Ever the motherly figure, she adopted both Jasper and Rosalie Hale.

Rosalie was tall, modelesque, and blonde. She had the most beautiful blue eyes. Bella felt like a pile of mud in comparison to her. All the men in the town worshipped the ground she walked on. Because she liked to keep to her family she was perceived as very arrogant and snobby. Since she glared daggers at every girl she'd ever laid eyes upon, no girl dared to attempt to figure her out. And since she and Emmett were the town's Dream Couple, no _boy_ ever dared to attempt to get close to her.

Her brother, Jasper, was a quiet fellow. He had a strange sort of charisma. People followed him blindly and always supported his decisions. His blonde hair and warm brown eyes made him devastatingly handsome. Bella has had a crush on him for years, but knew she had no chance as he was happy with Alice Cullen. It made her dislike Alice all the more.

Bella was a nervous wreck by the time lunch almost ended. Her next class was Biology. She was feeling anxious, and her heart was thumping loudly. What-ifs kept running through her mind. _What if_ she didn't understand anything? _What if_ she was worse at Biology than everyone else? _What if_ there was going to be a test today and she would fail it? _What if_ she fainted while dissecting something? _What if_ the teacher was horrible? _What if_ her lab partner turned out to be horrible?

The bell rang.

_Thank god! _Edward Cullen thought as he stood up to throw his lunch away. There were very few things that didn't give him a headache, and high school was definitely not one of them. Most of the guys here thought with their lower halves, the girls couldn't think at all, and the ones that could always thought about the wrong things. They were all so superficial and immature. And the crowded cafeteria room was when they were all together, a very concentrated dose of fakeness which made his head spin.

Edward went to the biology class and sat down. He was a bit peeved at his sister, Alice, for switching classes in the middle of the semester. He idly wondered who was going to replace her now. _Please, O, higher power above_, he prayed, _don't make it a girl who will throw herself over me all the time ,or a stinky grease covered guy who will fart every five seconds! Please make it someone smart who won't ask me for help all the time!_

Apparently, the higher power did exist, because the new student was none of the above. She was the only thing worse than that.

She stumbled into the class, tripping over the threshold.

…_..Bella Swan._

Edward sighed.

This was going to be a _long_ year.


End file.
